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GERALD WINN CARD

AUGUST 17, 1938 – SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

On September 15, 2015, in his Traverse City home, surrounded by his family, young and old, Gerald Winn Card, 77, drew his final breath. His family is, and shall remain, together. Connected by our memories of him as a father, grandfather, brother, and husband. He will be missed, loved, and remembered by all of us.

He was born August 17, 1938 to the late Gerald and Esther (Pailthorp) Card in Flint, Michigan. He is survived by his wife of 47 years Nancy (Glazier) Card, three children: Joni Smith of Holt and her children David Rector and Morgan Smith, Theresa (David) Doerr of Grand Ledge and her children Bryan Doerr and Sarah Totten, and Grant Card of Traverse City and his children Tyler Card and Isaac Szymanski; sister Jean (Joseph) Skornicka of San Rafael, CA; sister-in-law Peggy (Ward) Dey of Fowlerville, MI; nephews and nieces: Joseph (Jill) Skornicka, Susan Skornicka, Amy (Bruce) MacKella, Carleen (Zac) Vaupel and Lance Dey. Many extended family and friends that have been a part of his life for years.

Gerry grew up in Clio, moving to Flint as a teenager where he graduated from Flint Technical High School. He served two years in the United States Army, stationed in Heidelberg, Germany where he married Dorit Ehrenmann and developed a life-long love of Germany and was fluent in the German language. He and Dorit had two children, Joni and Theresa.

After his service in the Army, he returned to Flint and worked at AC Spark Plug. In 1962 he moved to East Lansing to work at Oldsmobile and graduated from Michigan State University with a Master’s degree in Communications. He married Nancy Glazier in 1968 and they had a son, Grant.

Gerry retired from General Motors Oldsmobile division as National Advertising Manager. One of his biggest advertising campaigns was “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile”. Throughout his working career he traveled extensively and met many celebrities.

He was an avid MSU Spartan fan, and loved to travel, especially to Germany. He read with a passion and could spend hours at Horizon Books in Traverse City. In his retirement years he loved spending time with his wife, Nancy, on their 14 acres on Arbutus Lake where you could often find him working on the property with his dogs Zach and Zoey, taking his grandchildren, nieces and nephews on scavenger hunts in the woods while feeding the wildlife and birds, but not the squirrels.

Family will be grieving privately. Donations may be made to Hospice of Michigan or the charity of your choice. A special thank you to Chelsea and Jessica of Hospice of Michigan who provided exceptional care to Gerry and the entire family during his final days.

A celebration of Gerry’s life will be held at a later date.

The family chose Life Story – Traverse City. Please visit Gerry’s web page at www.lifestorytc.com